Unimed S.A.

Unimed S.A. is a Lausanne-based Swiss company operating in biomedical engineering and medical-device manufacturing. Its principal capabilities include the manufacture and sale of medical and diagnostic needles, the forming and processing of stainless-steel tubing, and contract production of finished and semi-finished components for medical-device and diagnostics companies. Although the Unimed name was established in 1958, the business traces its technical and commercial origins to a needle-making activity begun in Lausanne in 1936 by Pierre-Jean Guisan. Guisan initially produced hypodermic needles for dentists and physicians in a cellar on Avenue de Cour before moving to facilities on Rue de Genève. During the Second World War, difficulty obtaining imported tubes encouraged the development of local technical capabilities. In 1944, Guisan established Microtube S.A. and obtained know-how for drawing stainless-steel tubes, a process that later became central to the company’s industrial identity. Ownership and operating arrangements subsequently changed through relationships with Wander S.A., Intramed S.A., Socorex S.A., and related medical-instrument businesses. In the early 1950s, Socorex concentrated the inherited activities on needles and syringes, while the products gained a strong international reputation. In 1954, the medical-instrument activity was transferred to Socorex Instruments Medicaux S.A., managed by Mr. Hertig and Karl Schoenholzer. When those partners separated in 1958, Hertig retained the syringe business, which later became associated with Socorex-Isba S.A., while Schoenholzer assumed the needle production and export activity under the new name Unimed S.A. The company’s logo, introduced in 1958, depicts a medical needle hub and is associated with Schoenholzer. Unimed expanded beyond standard hypodermic needles into surgical needles and veterinary needles. Its products were manufactured in numerous models and dimensions and sold through authorized distributors in Switzerland and overseas. The company later faced a structural change in its market. Rising costs for cleaning and reconditioning reusable needles, together with concern about transmission of emerging blood-borne diseases including AIDS, contributed to declining demand for traditional reusable products. In response, Unimed shifted toward contract manufacturing and applied its expertise in stainless-steel tube forming to the needs of medical-device and diagnostic-equipment producers. By the period described in the company’s reference history, contract manufacturing and stainless-steel tubing had become major activities. Unimed supplied finished and semi-finished products that customers marketed under their own brands, allowing the company to participate in the broader medical-technology supply chain rather than relying only on sales under the Unimed name. The reference material states that the company served more than 1,500 clients in 70 countries. Its business therefore combines heritage medical-needle products with an industrial, business-to-business manufacturing role focused on precision components and customized production.

Unimed’s history is rooted in Lausanne’s early medical-instrument industry. In 1936, Pierre-Jean Guisan began making hypodermic needles in a cellar on Avenue de Cour. The operation later moved to Rue de Genève and supplied dentists and physicians. Because the needle tubes were initially imported, wartime supply constraints created an incentive to develop domestic production capabilities. Guisan subsequently obtained stainless-steel tube-drawing know-how from France and founded Microtube S.A. in 1944 to support tube production. The enterprise then passed through several connected corporate arrangements. Wander S.A. acquired interests in Guisan’s needle business and Microtube, while Intramed S.A. was established in Bern in 1946 in an attempt to organize medical-industry activities. Intramed ceased operations in 1950. Socorex S.A. later acquired the relevant trademarks, operations, and shareholdings, and took over associated activities involving needles and syringes. Under Socorex, other product lines were progressively abandoned as the needle and syringe businesses developed an international reputation. In 1954, the medical-instrument operation was transferred to Socorex Instruments Medicaux S.A., led by Mr. Hertig and Karl Schoenholzer. The business retained a strong export orientation; the reference history states that approximately 70–80 percent of the company’s Swiss-produced syringes and needles were sold abroad at that time. In 1958, Hertig and Schoenholzer divided the activities. Hertig retained syringe production, while Schoenholzer took responsibility for the needle activity and formed Unimed S.A. Unimed concentrated on medical needles and expanded the surgical-needle work that had begun under Socorex in 1951. It also introduced veterinary needles and developed a broad range of models and dimensions distributed through authorized retailers in Switzerland and foreign markets. The company’s visual identity included a logo representing a medical needle hub, associated with its 1958 foundation and with Karl Schoenholzer. A major transition occurred after Patrick Schoenholzer, an ETH Lausanne-trained engineer and Karl Schoenholzer’s son, joined the company in 1981. The economics of reusable needles deteriorated as cleaning and reconditioning became more expensive. At the same time, public-health concerns surrounding AIDS accelerated the market’s movement away from traditional reusable products. Unimed responded by applying its expertise in stainless-steel tube forming to contract production for other medical businesses. This strategic reorientation changed Unimed from primarily a branded needle seller into a specialized supplier to the medical-device and diagnostics industries. It began producing customized finished and semi-finished items that customers could sell under their own brands, while continuing to supply stainless-steel tubing and related precision components. The reference material describes contract manufacturing as a major part of the company’s business and reports service to more than 1,500 clients in 70 countries. Unimed’s historical identity therefore combines Swiss needle-making heritage, precision metalworking, and international business-to-business medical manufacturing.

• 1981

  Patrick Schoenholzer joins the company

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  The engineer joins Unimed as the company begins responding to structural changes in the reusable-needle market.

• 1958

  Unimed S.A. is founded

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Karl Schoenholzer assumes the needle production and export activity after the separation from the syringe business and establishes Unimed S.A.

• 1954

  Socorex Instruments Medicaux S.A. takes over the activity

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  The needle and syringe business is transferred to a new company led by Mr. Hertig and Karl Schoenholzer.

• 1950

  Intramed ceases operations

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Intramed S.A., an earlier attempt to organize related medical activities, goes out of business.

• 1944

  Microtube S.A. is established

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Guisan establishes Microtube S.A. to undertake stainless-steel tube drawing, strengthening local control over a critical needle-manufacturing input.

• 1936

  Pierre-Jean Guisan begins needle production in Lausanne

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Pierre-Jean Guisan starts producing hypodermic needles for dentists and physicians in Lausanne, establishing the industrial lineage from which Unimed later developed.

• Contract manufacturing becomes a major business

  [1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Unimed expands its role as a supplier of stainless-steel tubing and finished or semi-finished products for medical-device and diagnostics customers.

A Swiss precision manufacturer combining long-standing needle-making expertise with customized stainless-steel tubing and contract manufacturing for international medical-device and diagnostics customers.

• Medical devices · 1936

  Medical and hypodermic needles

  The company’s traditional core products are needles for medical use, including the hypodermic needles made by its predecessor businesses for physicians and dentists. Unimed developed multiple models and dimensions and distributed them through authorized retailers in Switzerland and international markets.

• Medical devices · 1951

  Surgical needles

  Unimed continued and expanded surgical-needle production initiated under Socorex in 1951. These products extended the company beyond injection-related applications into surgical use and formed part of its broader precision-needle portfolio.

• Veterinary medical devices

  Veterinary needles

  Veterinary needles were added to the company’s production program as Unimed broadened its medical-needle business. The available reference describes the range but does not identify specific current models or brands.

• Medical-device components · 1944

  Stainless-steel tubing

  Stainless-steel tube drawing and forming became an important technical capability originating in the company’s pre-Unimed history. Unimed later supplied tubing to medical-device and diagnostics manufacturers and used the process as a foundation for customized contract work.

• Contract manufacturing · 1981

  Contract-manufactured medical and diagnostics components

  Unimed produces finished and semi-finished products for customers that market the resulting goods under their own brands. This business uses the company’s needle-making, stainless-steel forming, and precision-manufacturing knowledge to serve medical-device and diagnostics clients.

• 1981

  Reorient the business toward contract manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  Reusable-needle demand declined as cleaning and reconditioning costs increased and health concerns associated with AIDS changed purchasing behavior.

  Action taken

  Unimed applied its stainless-steel tube-forming expertise to contract manufacturing and component supply for medical-device and diagnostics companies.

  Aftermath

  Contract production and stainless-steel tubing became major activities, with Unimed supplying products that customers sold under their own brands.

  Source

• 1958

  Separate the needle and syringe businessesStrategy

  Background

  The leaders of Socorex Instruments Medicaux S.A. decided to divide their activities. Mr. Hertig controlled the syringe business, while Karl Schoenholzer took responsibility for needles and exports.

  Action taken

  Schoenholzer established Unimed S.A. as the new company for the needle activity.

  Aftermath

  The separation gave Unimed a distinct identity centered on medical, surgical, and later veterinary needles.

  Source

• 1981

  Unimed shifted toward contract manufacturing[1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After Patrick Schoenholzer joined the business, changing economics around reusable needles and growing concern over AIDS contributed to a strategic move toward contract manufacturing and stainless-steel tubing supply.

• 1958

  Unimed established as an independent needle business[1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following the separation of the Socorex Instruments Medicaux partners, Karl Schoenholzer assumed the needle production and export activity and operated it under the Unimed S.A. name.

• Unimed broadened its needle portfolio[1]Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org

  Product generation

  The company developed surgical needles from earlier work inherited from Socorex and added veterinary needles alongside its medical-needle range.

1. 1Unimed S.A.en.wikipedia.org